SETTLING IN

Monday, June 08, 2009

The internal wake up bell for us came at eight.  The sun coming through the fifty eight degree air was heating the sides of the coach and we could hear the familiar popping noises of the fiberglass panels as they expanded with the heat.

Onie fixed herself a cup of coffee and the teapot for me while I made some notes.

Being web deprived for several days she tried to access her homepages but alas, the signal was too weak and the page failed to load.

While the writer continued his pecking she tried again and the signal had gained sufficient strength to allow her access.  She was all smiles as she surfed, checked her email and chatted with Tracy.

At a sopping place the writer grabbed his bathroom kit and headed off to the shower.

Upon returning from the shower the writer checked his email and the enews before settling down to read the Monday edition of the Anchorage Daily News, referred to by some locals as the Anchorage Daily Pravda.  They feel the paper is very liberal and  it’s editorial page does carry quite a bit of liberal tripe but the reporting of national and international news seems to be more even handed than the Houston Chronicle which couldn’t tell the truth about national politics if their very survival depended on it.

At eleven we ambled over to Sidney and Barbara’s for brunch.  Eggs, cooked to order, pancakes, sausage, both link and pan, bacon, coffee and orange juice graced the table. 

Waddling like ducks, from too much brunch, we made our way back to the Marlin where setup work continued, unloading the basement and putting up the screens on the front of the coach.

While the work continued Onie headed off to the store.  Wheel covers were put on to protect against the strong UV rays which are very damaging to tires.  The large patio rug was taken from the basement and deployed next to the coach.

Our shed, still under construction, was organized inside so some things from the coach could go inside of it.

When Onie returned from the store with some ingredients needed to make spaghetti sauce we began that chore.  Krista had requested it as she really enjoyed that which was made in Iowa.  We said we would make the sauce, she already had the pasta cooked, so the gang can have it tonight for supper.

Kurt and Sidney came down from the hill and announced they were going to Kenai to pick up some building supplies.  Since we needed garlic bread to go with the spaghetti, I rode along.  At Lowe’s Kurt picked up a floor drain and pipe for the garage slab which will be poured in a day or two.

Back at the house at seven the bread was placed in the oven to heat.  Chairs were brought over and places taken at the table as Onie served the salad.  Gathered at our place were Sidney, Barbara, Chuck, Lavon, Krista, Joel, Onie and the writer.  Kurt would have joined us but he was suffering from a “no seeum” bite as well as fatigue.  After getting back from Kenai he had gone straight to bed.  When the salad was gone Onie brought out the spaghetti sauce and Krista delivered up the pasta.  Later, LaVon uncovered her homemade biscuits and ladled on generous servings of fresh strawberries which she topped with Cool Whip, thus creating for all, strawberry shortcake.

When the eating was over Chris and Norm came to visit, having gone out to eat.

The evening had grown cold and a campfire was lit.  Chairs were moved in close to take advantage of the heat and a desultory conversation began.

Overhead a plume from Redoubt drifted to the northeast.

Mt. Redoubt has been rumbling and spewing ash for several months.

The drifting ash covered the sun and the temperature was dropping as the wind picked up.  By ten o’clock it was fifty two and feeling very cold.

The party broke up and folks drifted away to their own rigs, closing doors behind them and pulling down shades, signaling they were in for the night and not to be disturbed.

We too pulled down our door shade, got ready for bed and tumbled in at ten thirty.  With covers pulled high and tight we dozed off.

RUST BELT

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

We had a little frost last night but it was gone by the time we got out of bed at nine.

While breakfast and tea were being prepared LaVon brought over some bedding plants, Daisies and Verbena.

The paper was read while we waited for the steel cut oats, blueberries, walnuts and tea.  Once breakfast was on the table we sat to eat and worked two crosswords.

While the sun shone outside in the sixty two degrees notes of the preceding day were jotted down while Onie surfed the web.

The writer made phone calls to Clair, our eldest daughter, Priscilla to check on her health tests and see when they are leaving Maine, for Alaska and finally to Paula Parker regarding the deer lease in the hill country.  Calling done the writer turned his attention to the stove top.

Last evening while Onie was working on supper the front burner on the stove had blackened the bottom of one of her pans.  The flame has been somewhat yellow for a while indicating a poor oxygen fuel mixture.  When it had been looked at before the air adjustment had been wide open.  When the top was removed today it was still open.  Something had to be restricting the air flow.  The burner was removed and the electric lighter disconnected.  A screw driver was inserted in the tube that carries the propane and mixture and a scraping motion was made on the wall of the tube. 

What was discovered was our own version of the rust belt.  As the scraping continued the rust continued to pour out of the tube.  When no more rust could be scraped out the burned itself was lightly tapped with the handle of a screw driver, to dislodge any rust residing there.  Then the burner was rinsed in warm water.  When the cleaning was done two or three tablespoons of rust had been removed from the burner and tube.  When the reassembly was done the gas from the burner once again burned bright blue.

Her supervisory capacity completed, Onie went outside to her plants.  The pansies and some other plants had reseeded in her flower boxes. Now she weeded them and made room for he plants LaVon had brought her.  Then she watered.

Inside the story from last Thursday was finished.

Fed, clothed and written out the writer went outside and put up the awning before heading up the hill to help Kurt on his house.

Driveway and first floor.

This side is the front of the house and will have a view of Kenai River and the
Chugach mountains. Spectacular! Basement and first floor with second floor (plans

for a B&B) yet to come.

There always a need for a good broom man at a construction site so a little sweeping was done before my attention was diverted to running the chop saw.

Work on the house stopped at six and the crew descended the hill to unload Sidney’s trailer.  The ceiling wood that had been loaded in Iowa was now stored in Chuck’s garage against the time it would be needed.  The door to our shed was carried to our place to await installation.

Supper was at Kurt’s; salad and brats followed by a campfire.

Home at nine the writer moseyed down to the river for the first time this year.  With the warm weather the river is higher than at the same time last year.  Perhaps this bodes well for a good run of salmon.  Time will tell.

In out of the cold, the writer prepared for bed, where Onie had gone earlier, and joined her at ten thirty.

PAPERWORK

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The driver rose at seven thirty.  The coach was cold, forty two degrees, the same as outside.  That is what happens when one sleeps with the windows open.  He called Continental Motors, the Subaru dealer in Anchorage, and made an appointment for tomorrow. Back under the covers at eight the driver stayed in the warmth until nine when he rose and made tea.

On the web he checked the Dow Jones Average, his email and read enews before trying to print credit card statements.  With printer problems the driver had to wait for help.  When Onie rose she lent a hand with the obstinate printer and finally got it so that a readable document could be printed.

The driver stayed out of the way and made notes from the previous day and completed a story from his notes.

After breakfast Onie went back to bed.  The allergies that bothered me on the way up have been particularly hard on her and the driver/doctor has recommended bed rest, after she cooks of course.

With the printer working credit card statements were printed and checks written.  Banking was tended to and some agency accounting done.  The finished work was placed in addressed envelopes, sealed and stamped.  The work was ready to be entrusted to the United States Postal service.  Hopefully they will do their job. 

With the navigator resting the driver went up the hill to Kurt’s place to work on the house.  Krista and I worked on securing the outside sheathing until we knocked off about seven.

The driver and navigator elected to pass on the community gathering, for supper.

Some computer games were played and we retired.

ANCHORAGE

Thursday, June 11, 2009

There was no going back to bed this morning when the driver rose at six thirty.  Even though it was forty five outside and not much warmer inside he had to get up and get ready to take the Subaru to Anchorage.  The one weakness we have found in the toad is its desire to have new rear wheel bearings about every sixty thousand miles.   Today we had an appointment at Continental Motors to have them replaced, again.  They were expecting the toad to be there by eleven.

In addition Joel, who has been helping Kurt with the framing, has to catch a flight at twelve-thirty, to go back to Sheldon, Iowa.  It has been over seven weeks since he has seen his family and he misses them as well as they miss him.  The driver will drop him off at the airport before going to the shop.

Bright sunshine greeted the driver as he stepped out into the crisp morning air.  Across at Kurt’s camper Joel was standing outside with his bags, ready to go.  It was seven-fifteen.

In addition to Kurt and Joel, Chuck was also there with his his one ton diesel pickup, idling.  When the driver got to Kurt’s, Chuck announced that he had to go in past Eagle River to pick up some roof panels for the green house.  Joel and I would follow him and Kurt into Anchorage, drop off Joel at the airport, drop off the car at the shop, meet Don Hickel for lunch and then go on to get the roof panels.

We left the camp at seven thirty, on schedule.  On the way in Joel and I visited about many things including kart racing which both of his boys participate in as does our grandson, Kyle.  Traffic was light as were the animal sightings, we saw none.

The lack of traffic and animals was made up for by numerous pavement breaks and miles of construction.  It has been said there are two seasons in Alaska, winter and road construction.  We are now in road construction.

In Anchorage at ten after ten we decided to go to the dealership, first.  Check in was quick.  The tech checked out the suspect bearings and said that the bearings on both rear wheels were bad.  The order was given to fix them.

With the four of us in Churck’s truck we headed for the airport. 

By ten thirty Joel had checked his bags.  He decided to go to lunch with us.  We met Don at the Burrito King, for Mexican food.

We dawdled over our food a bit as we visited about local politics a well as Sarah Palin and David Letterman’s gaffe.

Lunch over we took Don back to the airport where we wished him a safe flight, bade him Godspeed and watched him disappear through the automated doors, before the three of us headed off to get the roof panels.  A short detour was made to the Brown Jug to get camp supplies.

At the Bristol exit we left the freeway and headed toward the airport to pick up the panels for the green house.  We met the man there who was selling the panels to Chuck.  He opened a Tee Hangar that contained the panels and Kurt and I began loading them while Chuck and David got squared away on the money part.  With the money transaction completed Chuck came out and helped load the last few sheets and then they were tied down for the trip back to Castaway.

In the meantime the service writer, Phil, had called and said the toad was ready to go.  We went back to Continental Motors where the bill was paid and Kurt and I bid Chuck adieu and we headed for camp.

Chuck was staying in Anchorage until around four to pick up his son, James, who was coming in from the slopes.

With the Subaru once again a quiet car we made a stop at Wal-Mart, for big jars of peanuts and Lowe’s for electrical parts for the house.

Once again animal sightings were nil as we wound our way home, around the Inlet and through the mountains.  Around the Inlet the tide was out, way out, perhaps further out than either of us had ever seen it before.

With the ride now being very quiet we were able to have a nice visit before reaching camp around five.

The temperature had never been very high today and in camp it was fifty.  Inside the coach Onie had the heater going.

Looking out our dining room window we could see a couple of guys on the fish grate.  More importantly we could see their fishing rod tips bending and throbbing as they fought fish.  It was time for us to forsake the warm Marlin for the cold grate.

A quick call to Krista, as we rigged up, let her know that there was fishing action to be had. 

Down on the grate the guys had quit and were cleaning their catch.  Onie and Krista and myself all began our pitch and drift.  Onie and the writer both managed one a piece while Krista managed to have two netted before school was out.

With the first catch of the season filleted and ready for the grill we headed back to the coach, at eight.

By now the temp had dropped to forty eight and we were glad to back in the warmth of the coach.  Somehow it feels better to be able to warm up here than to cool off at home.  Once the writer is hot at home it literally takes days to cool off. Here one can be cold for hours but be warm in one.

During that hour we were warming up we played Snood and a few notes of the day were laid down.

At nine Onie put the salad and black beans and rice on the table.  Nothing could be finer than supper with my finer bride, be it beans and ice or filet mignon.

Eleven found us snuggled in our bed, waiting for the body heat to chase the cold from the sheets.  Whenever it happened we were unaware because we were already asleep.

ONIE LIMIT

Friday. June 12, 2009

We have witnessed minimal temperature swings so far this season, compared to home.  Last night when we went to bed it was forty seven.  When we rose at eight it was forty seven, not much change.

The sun, mostly hidden in the clouds, shed little warmth on the Marlin but inside we were still snug as the heater oscillated and spread the heat all about.

Tea was brewed and sipped as Onie played Snood and the writer worked on his stories.

Soon the scene changed with Onie taking out the trash and heading to the grate while yours truly went up the hill with Kurt.  Once there we took the showers he had brought from Sheldon and placed them in the house.  As we were finishing up the fellow from the power company drove up.  He was there to converse with Kurt about the requirements that had to be met before power could be hooked up to the house.  Some back filling needed to be done, an easement arranged and a ten foot swath cleared through the brush to allow a crew to lay underground cable.  Using a laser he measured the footage from an existing pole to Kurt’s power panel and then delineated the easement.

When he was gone Krista and the writer headed off to Spenard Building Supply, hereinafter referred to as SBS, on K Beach road to pick up building materials.

When we returned at four thirty Onie was fishing.

Jay and Kay were just pulling in and we stopped to visit with them before parking the trailer and joining Onie on the grate, in the misting rain.

Fishing my favorite spot I managed to get skunked while Onie caught one more, adding it to the two she had already strung it gave her a limit, her first of the year.

Barbara has caught more fish than anyone else in camp. She's a serious fisher"woman". 

The filet knife was put to use once again and Onie’s catch and Barbara’s one were reduced to be ready to cook.  Onie’s catch was placed in the frig with that the one from the other day.  It’s beginning to look a lot like fishing season is here.

Kurt and Krista invited us to go out to dinner with them to a Chinese buffet on the Kenai Spur.  We loaded in the truck with them and Don and Julie and headed for the restaurant.  The restaurant wasn’t crowded and we were able to go right to the buffet tables, all three of them.  Most things in Alaska are larger than life but that doesn’t go for buffets, three or four tables with thirty or forty items is considered big. 

There are no Texas buffets here with two to three hundred items and certainly no Reno selections with too many to count.  The food was warm to hot and while not the best we have ever eaten it was certainly palatable. 

Don was drinking a Sumo sized beer, the owner’s description.  He had poured it in a frosted mug, not unusual but what happened next was a once in a lifetime experience for him and a viewing wonder for the rest of us.  As he picked up the mug and was about to take a sip of beer the entire bottom of he mug separated from the rest of it spilling the remaining contents down the front of his pants.  There were no shards, no splinters, no noise the thing just separated and launched eight or ten ounces of beer into his lap.  He was stunned to say the least but after our shock the rest of us had a good laugh at his expense.  The owner brought him another Sumo sized beer, very large, along with a towel and we finished supper.

Don, smelling like beer, and the rest of us got back to camp at nine.  Onie went in to play Snood while I went down to harass the fish.  The fish didn’t cooperate as they were no shows.

Back inside the writer played Snood a while before making notes and writing.

Later we went to bed.

SHOPPING

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Morning dawned about two thirty but we wern’t awake to see it.   When we did rise the sun was already well on its trek across the sky.  Morning had broken but it hadn’t broken our slumber or our dreams.  Those were broken by hunger and thirst, hunger for breakfast and thirst for our hot Jasmine tea.

With those sitting before us we opened the paper to the crossword and began testing our mental dexterity and acuity.  One of the puzzles isn’t much of a challenge but the other one, the New York Times puzzle, takes a bit more noodling before it is conquered.

With breakfast, tea and the puzzles finished Onie set off to make the rounds of the local merchants in an effort to prop up the local economy.  Radio Shack was visited, albeit for a return, Fred Meyer, Safeway and a couple of more stops rounded out her afternoon.

The writer, now turned chop saw and nail gun operator, found his way up the hill one more time.  Work had been underway for quite a while when he reached the house but there is no shortage of work and won’t be for weeks or perhaps months to come.

The slab for the garage floor was being poured and finished while we worked on sheathing some walls.

Later we wandered down to the fish grate where Onie was holding forth to a few newcomers.  They were making the same mistakes we have seen over and over and among the most egregious was their refusal to listen to the good advice she was giving.  Figuring there is no cure for a hard head we went about fishing without interrupting their ignorance, any further.

Meanwhile Onie was busy hanging a few fish before she finally brought one to bay and the net.  Kurt and I weren’t so fortunate.

Fishing at an end the writer used his electric filet knife for the first time and did a pretty poor job of it but it will be better with practice.  Onie promises.

More salad, black beans and rice was our supper.

Notes were made and we retired early as the night air seems to be bothering Onie’s breathing.  Besides that she had caught another fish. The writer is so far behind in that department he felt a lesson may be coming on and he wanted a rest before starting it.

FLAG DAY

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Onie still wasn’t feeling up to par and elected to sleep in.  The writer rose at nine, showered and got ready for church.

Tea was made and a muffin Julie had made was eaten while the front section of the paper was read.  Then it was time to go to church.

Tim Weekly, the pastor, was in the vestibule when I arrived and we greeted each other with a warm handshake and hug.  We were both glad to see each other again.  I found my way to a seat, second pew from the front on the left side.  Most of the seats were taken, the church almost full and people were still filtering in even as the music service began.

Today is Flag Day and Tim’s message was entitled “What Flag Are You Carrying”?   What he said was that each of us represent something and that something is visible to those around us just as though we were carrying a banner.  We should all be sure the banner we are displaying is the one we want others to see and one we can be proud of.

When the sermon was over I eased over and talked with Julie, Tim’s wife, and a Houston ex-patriate.  She has a room in their home decorated with Houston and Texas memorabilia including a Houston Texans banner.  I reminded her the team needs a lot of luck and prayer if they are going to make a reasonable showing.  She agreed.

Back at the coach at twelve more of the paper was read as Onie and I shared some hot tea and another muffin while we worked the Sunday crossword puzzle.

At two o’clock the driver took the Subaru up the hill to help Kurt, Sidney and Krista with the framing of the garage.  The garage is attached to the house so we framed the three walls as well as helping a framing crew on the second floor stand the west wall there.

The framing crew descended from the hill about six thirty.  Under the awning of the Marlin Onie was trying to assemble her new gas grill.  One look told us she was struggling with the instructions and the hundred or so small parts she had laid out.  Kurt and Sidney went to her rescue while the writer replenished the fresh water holding tank and emptied the gray and black

While the grill assembly continued the writer continued with the honey wagon going first to Kurt’s rig and then Sidney’s where their tanks were emptied.

When that job was done the grill was together.

New grill and vege griller. We can cook outside a lot easier.

Even though it was now eight-thirty there was still a lot of daylight and Sidney’s boat needed to be put back together after the winterizing.  So Kurt, Sidney and the writer put the boat canopy on and loaded things that had been stored, back in his boat.

Work over, it was time for a supper of salad, black beans and rice.  While Onie and the writer ate they did more work on the Sunday crossword.  It was a real poser and took a lot of solving.  With good headway made on the puzzle we retired to watch My Wedding Date.

When it was over at a quarter to one we went to sleep.